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The move could lead to compensation for members of the group. Two of the surviving members said Monday they would seek compensation from the state.

In a news release, the outgoing governor stated that “justice demands that this stain finally be removed” from the state's history.

“In evaluating these petitions for clemency, it is important to separate fact from rumor and innuendo,” Perdue said in the release. “I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained.”

On Oct. 17, 1972, nine young black men and a white woman were convicted in a Burgaw courtroom for the 1971 firebombing of a Wilmington grocery store. The Wilmington 10 were sentenced to 282 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to firebomb Mike's Grocery and conspiracy to assault emergency personnel who responded to the fire.

Supporters saw them as political prisoners, framed by a racist and unjust judicial system. The three key witnesses in the case later recanted their testimony. Francine DeCoursey, a local filmmaker, is working on a documentary about the Wilmington 10. She said each member had an alibi for the day in question, if only they were checked out.

“These men were only guilty of being black, and taking a stand for justice at a time when that was not popular in the Deep South,” DeCoursey said.

In 1978, Gov. Jim Hunt substantially reduced their sentences. The convictions overturned in 1980, in a ruling citing perjury and prosecutorial misconduct as factors in the verdicts.

One of the turning points in the fight for a pardon came during a November news conference in Raleigh. The NAACP displayed jury selection notes from the trial. In those notes, potential jurors are labeled with phrases such as “possibly KKK good” and “knows; sensible; Uncle Tom type.” Advocates for the Wilmington 10 argued that the notes show that the prosecution tried to seat a racially biased jury.

Wilmington 10 prosecutor Jay Stroud confirmed he made the notes, but disputed the interpretation by the NAACP.

He said that when he marked KKK by a potential juror's name that it was a strike against the juror because of the potential of a hung jury. He added he also wanted, “conservative blacks – blacks who could be fair.”

He was adamant the pardon was a mistake.

“I prosecuted them because I thought they were guilty,” he said. “And a jury after a six-week trial found them guilty.”

But Perdue called Stroud's notes “disgraceful” in her news release.

“It is utterly incompatible with basic notions of fairness and with every ideal that North Carolina holds dear,” she said. ”The legitimacy of our criminal justice system hinges on it operating in a fair and equitable manner with justice being dispensed based on innocence or guilt – not based on race or other forms of prejudice. That did not happen here. Instead, these convictions were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on North Carolina's criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer.”

Perdue's pardon means the state no longer thinks the 10 committed a crime.

“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Perdue for her courage,” Chavis, the former national NAACP executive director who was in jail and prison for about five years before his release, told the Associated Press. “People should be innocent until proven guilty, not persecuted for standing up for equal rights and justice. For 40 years we have maintained our innocence. This decision will remove a cloud that has been hanging over North Carolina for decades.”

The news, however, was not a call to celebrate for everyone.

John Poulos, whose parents owned Mike's Grocery, said the pardon was done in the wrong way.

“It was rushed,” he said. “I think there should have been an independent panel to look at evidence instead of rushing to a hasty judgment. This has been turned down three previous times by other governors.”

For Patrick, the pardon was a chance to finally shake a tarnished reputation that never allowed him to hold down a full-time job.

“I'm old, half blind and crippled,” Patrick said at a news conference Monday in Wilmington. “I just want to go forward and make the best of the piece of life I have.”

The pardons of innocence allow members who spent time in prison to petition the state within five years for compensation. Both Patrick and Vereen said Monday they would seek compensation

“They destroyed our lives,” Vereen said.

The N.C. Industrial Commission could pay the members $50,000 for each full year they spent in prison, or the pro rata amount for each portion of a year, including any time spent awaiting trial, according to state law. Compensation cannot exceed $750,000 for an individual.

Lasonia Melvin, a Wilmington resident and niece of Tindall, who died in August, said the news of the governor's pardon is “bittersweet” because Tindall isn't here to experience it. But she said Tindall believed in his heart that the group would be pardoned one day.

“He is dancing in heaven today,” Melvin said. “He is really rejoicing this New Year's Eve.”

<p>Gov. Beverly Perdue pardoned the Wilmington 10 Monday, ending one of the longest and most controversial civil rights cases in Wilmington history.</p><p>The move could lead to compensation for members of the group. Two of the surviving members said Monday they would seek compensation from the state.</p><p>In a news release, the outgoing governor stated that “justice demands that this stain finally be removed” from the state's history.</p><p>“In evaluating these petitions for clemency, it is important to separate fact from rumor and innuendo,” Perdue said in the release. “I have decided to grant these pardons because the more facts I have learned about the Wilmington Ten, the more appalled I have become about the manner in which their convictions were obtained.”</p><p>On Oct. 17, 1972, nine young black men and a white woman were convicted in a Burgaw courtroom for the 1971 firebombing of a Wilmington grocery store. The Wilmington 10 were sentenced to 282 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to firebomb Mike's Grocery and conspiracy to assault emergency personnel who responded to the fire.</p><p>The 10 were Ben Chavis, 24 at the time; Ann Shepard (later Ann Shepard Turner), a 35-year-old white social worker; Reginald Epps. 18; Jerry Jacobs. 19; James “Bun” McKoy, 19; Wayne Moore, 19; Marvin “Chili” Patrick, 19; Connie Tindall, 21; William “Joe” Wright Jr., 19; and Willie Earl Vereen, 18. Except for Chavis and Turner, all the defendants were Wilmington residents.</p><p>Four of the 10 – Jacobs, Wright, Shepard and Tindall – are dead.</p><p>Supporters saw them as political prisoners, framed by a racist and unjust judicial system. The three key witnesses in the case later recanted their testimony. Francine DeCoursey, a local filmmaker, is working on a documentary about the Wilmington 10. She said each member had an alibi for the day in question, if only they were checked out.</p><p>“These men were only guilty of being black, and taking a stand for justice at a time when that was not popular in the Deep South,” DeCoursey said. </p><p>In 1978, Gov. Jim Hunt substantially reduced their sentences. The convictions overturned in 1980, in a ruling citing perjury and prosecutorial misconduct as factors in the verdicts.</p><p>One of the turning points in the fight for a pardon came during a November news conference in Raleigh. The NAACP displayed jury selection notes from the trial. In those notes, potential jurors are labeled with phrases such as “possibly KKK good” and “knows; sensible; Uncle Tom type.” Advocates for the Wilmington 10 argued that the notes show that the prosecution tried to seat a racially biased jury.</p><p>Wilmington 10 prosecutor Jay Stroud confirmed he made the notes, but disputed the interpretation by the NAACP. </p><p>He said that when he marked KKK by a potential juror's name that it was a strike against the juror because of the potential of a hung jury. He added he also wanted, “conservative blacks – blacks who could be fair.”</p><p>He was adamant the pardon was a mistake.</p><p>“I prosecuted them because I thought they were guilty,” he said. “And a jury after a six-week trial found them guilty.”</p><p>But Perdue called Stroud's notes “disgraceful” in her news release.</p><p>“It is utterly incompatible with basic notions of fairness and with every ideal that North Carolina holds dear,” she said. ”The legitimacy of our criminal justice system hinges on it operating in a fair and equitable manner with justice being dispensed based on innocence or guilt – not based on race or other forms of prejudice. That did not happen here. Instead, these convictions were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on North Carolina's criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer.”</p><p>Perdue's pardon means the state no longer thinks the 10 committed a crime.</p><p>“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Perdue for her courage,” Chavis, the former national NAACP executive director who was in jail and prison for about five years before his release, told the Associated Press. “People should be innocent until proven guilty, not persecuted for standing up for equal rights and justice. For 40 years we have maintained our innocence. This decision will remove a cloud that has been hanging over North Carolina for decades.”</p><p>The news, however, was not a call to celebrate for everyone.</p><p>John Poulos, whose parents owned Mike's Grocery, said the pardon was done in the wrong way. </p><p>“It was rushed,” he said. “I think there should have been an independent panel to look at evidence instead of rushing to a hasty judgment. This has been turned down three previous times by other governors.”</p><p>For Patrick, the pardon was a chance to finally shake a tarnished reputation that never allowed him to hold down a full-time job.</p><p>“I'm old, half blind and crippled,” Patrick said at a news conference Monday in Wilmington. “I just want to go forward and make the best of the piece of life I have.”</p><p>The pardons of innocence allow members who spent time in prison to petition the state within five years for compensation. Both Patrick and Vereen said Monday they would seek compensation</p><p>“They destroyed our lives,” Vereen said.</p><p>The N.C. Industrial Commission could pay the members $50,000 for each full year they spent in prison, or the pro rata amount for each portion of a year, including any time spent awaiting trial, according to state law. Compensation cannot exceed $750,000 for an individual.</p><p>Lasonia Melvin, a Wilmington resident and niece of Tindall, who died in August, said the news of the governor's pardon is “bittersweet” because Tindall isn't here to experience it. But she said Tindall believed in his heart that the group would be pardoned one day. </p><p>“He is dancing in heaven today,” Melvin said. “He is really rejoicing this New Year's Eve.”</p><p>Staff writers <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9912"><b>Pat Gannon</b></a>, <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic87"><b>Mike Voorheis</b></a> and the Associated Press contributed to this report.</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9907"><b>Jason Gonzales</b></a>: 343-2075</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @StarNews_Jason</p>